


Centerfold

by thewayshedreamed



Category: A Court of Thorns and Roses Series - Sarah J. Maas, MAAS Sarah J. - Works
Genre: Angst and Tragedy, Based on a Taylor Swift Song, Coney Island, Elain/Azriel - Freeform, Elain/Azriel angst, Elriel au, F/M, Heavy Angst, POV Elain Archeron, elriel angst, song-inspired fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-15 20:13:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29195115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thewayshedreamed/pseuds/thewayshedreamed
Summary: Heavy Elriel angst inspired by Coney Island by Taylor Swift ft. The NationalLyrics posted at the end in case you aren’t familiar with the song.
Relationships: Elain Archeron & Rhysand, Elain Archeron/Azriel, elriel - Relationship
Comments: 6
Kudos: 19





	Centerfold

**Author's Note:**

> Warning(s) for strong language, mild smut, mature themes, & depictions of grief.

——————————————————————————

Elain shivered against the cold air gifted by the slow and steady sunset. Regardless of the inherent unpleasantness of the cold, the dark couldn’t get there quickly enough. In her opinion, the weather had been a little too bright that day, a little too sunny. It was the kind of day where the sun warmed every surface, undeterred by the breeze, and flares appeared around every object. She usually loved days like it, but the sun seemed loud and abrasive.

She flexed her hand open, angling the cheap ring against the light of the sun. She’d had it for years, and the tarnish of the cheap metal was so dull that hardly any light reflected off the surface. The prongs around the stone were just as lifeless, some of them bent awkwardly and barely holding on. “Stone” probably wasn’t an appropriate term for the dull piece of faceted plastic with the ghost of a glossy sheen.

Gods, she and Azriel could have only been 15 or 16 years old when he’d won it for her on that very boardwalk along the Sidra. It was what led her there now, sitting near the river and reminiscing over days spent with her best friend along the bank. It had taken up residence on the small ring holder near her bed, gathering dust and tarnish over the past 9 years. She only wore it for special occasions, which usually meant she wore it for her or Azriel’s birthdays. A chain could have protected the small token of their friendship a little better, in hindsight, but she still loved it all the same.

The ring was one of those seemingly unimportant items at one point in her life, but since Azriel had started traveling for work so frequently, it became a sort of totem for their friendship. The two of them had been through so many growing pains over the years, evidenced by Azriel’s years as a quiet wallflower and Elain’s social, people-centered spirit. The worst of the growing pains was the constant distance, especially now that they were older. She missed him all the time.

Her little, wretched totem made her feel sentimental. Although she knew better than to rehash the events of the last several days, her brain wandered down that path anyway. Looking back on it, maybe she’d been a little harsh on him for missing her birthday due to work, but was she really asking for a whole lot by asking him to stay in town? No, she decided for the millionth time. Didn’t he want the same?

—

> **Cool. That’s the third year in a row, by the way.**

The text wasn’t her best work, but she had already typed and retyped so many versions by that point. Best to keep it short and sweet, she guessed. Her friend was a man of few words even on the best days, so there wouldn’t be much point to sending him a novel. Elain blinked against the tears that lined her eyes and prepared to fully engage in her self-care ritual.

Said ritual involved classical music, strings preferably, a warm blanket, and either reading or laying in bed to stare at the wall. She never claimed it was particularly sophisticated in comparison to other methods, but it worked for her. Her phone was usually switched to Do Not Disturb or silent for an interval of time so that she could process, her mind absently following the rise and fall of the music. She avoided anything with lyrics so as to not compete with her thoughts, especially when very few song fit her bill anyway.

Elain knew she should be supportive of Azriel and his career. He was finally doing something he loved and gave him a sense of purpose. The expense was the fact that he was never in Velaris for a stretch longer than a week or two. He claimed he missed her all the time, but she felt like he was absent for so much of her life. Why did he have to find his purpose in _that_ job?

The creak of her bedroom door would have startled her if she didn’t know deep down who was there. Azriel was nothing if not predictable, and he absolutely hated when Elain was angry with him. It clawed him from the inside out, he said, and he couldn’t think straight until he fixed it. It was no more than 15 minutes since she had sent her reply. Apparently, he was a man on a mission.

“Lain, really? This is ‘classical music bad’?”

Why did his rough voice have to be a balm to her soul? She was supposed to be mad at him.

“You don’t get to judge how bad it is,” she muttered, her face shoved into the pillow.

Azriel raspy chuckle sounded through her room, his foot steps drawing more and more near. The bed dipped beneath his weight, and she could tell he was seated near her hips. He could stay there all night, she decided. She wasn’t giving in this time.

“I’m sorry.” His voice was quiet, riddled with guilt.

“Are you? Az, I explicitly asked you to take off this year so that you could be here with me. I know that may seem stupid, but I miss you enough as it is. You couldn’t manage one weekend?”

His eyes fluttered closed as he took a deep breath. She thought he may be angry with her, but the longer she waited, she realized he was warring with himself.

“Lain,” he began, his eyes sliding to lock with hers. “I did take off. Someone had a family emergency, and I’m the closest consultant. They called me out.”

He leaned over her body, perching himself on his elbow and caging her in near her waist. His face looked so raw, so earnest, and a feeling of guilt washed over her at upsetting him. It was gone pretty quickly, but it interfered with her plans to stay angry. His hand reached up to tuck her wavy hair behind her ear before it dropped casually on the mattress.

“I promise I’ll make it up to you. We’ll celebrate your birthday as soon as I’m home; just you and me. I’ll make a thing of it.”

Elain knew her friend well enough to know he didn’t like to “make a thing” for anyone about anything. The gesture softened her, but the disappointment remained. Her eyes dropped to his shoulder, trailing down his bicep and to the comforter. She wished she hadn’t noticed the way the muscle flexed beneath the sleeve of his shirt.

That was a whole other issue. Somewhere in the last few years, her previously lanky and awkward best friend had grown into himself in a big way. So many times she caught herself wondering if he’d always been so broad, so tall, so _fit_. Shortly after it happened, she was acutely aware of the attention he attracted anytime they went out together. For the gods’ sake, they couldn’t even run to get candy on movie night without at least one admirer taking notice.

She didn’t know when the moment happened; when she realized her vicious jealousy wasn’t a platonic emotion. She had artfully shoved it down. Azriel could clearly have whoever he wanted, and she couldn’t imagine that he’d ever take notice of his mess of a best friend.

She wished he would stop looking at her the way he was.

“Thanks,” she squeaked. “I know I’m being a brat, but I really wanted you around this year.”

His face fell at her honesty, his eyes darting all over her face to assess her emotions. Elain was the one who broke the silence.

“Is this you getting back at me for all those times I forgot we had plans after school? I’ve said I’m sorry like a thousand times.”

Azriel’s head fell forward as he laughed softly at the memory. When they started high school, Elain had been overwhelmed with the opportunity to make more friends. As a result, she frequently blew him off, but he somehow never got upset with her. He always said he knew she was forgetful and left it alone.

“No,” he assured her, his eyes shining. “I’ve recovered from those abandonment issues, fortunately.”

Elain’s mouth dropped open in outrage. “You said you weren’t mad!”

“I wasn’t.” His eyes were still a little crinkled at the corners, Elain noticed. “I knew it was only a matter of time before you outgrew me.”

“I did NOT outgrow you, Azriel. Now you’re just trying to make me forget why I’m mad at you.”

Another laugh from her friend, his head shaking affectionately at her. His dark eyes caught on something, and he leaned over to retrieve it.

“I can’t believe you still have this. It’s... decrepit.” He scrunched his nose in disapproval.

Elain snatched the ring from his hand, suddenly very defensive of her little fake jewelry. “Of course I still have it. You gave it to me. With this job, I need _something_ to remember you by,” she muttered sardonically.

“That—” he paused to flick her nose and retrieve the ring, placing it back in the small dish on her bedside table.”—is enough out of you. Now you’re just being dramatic.”

“I am not!”

“You sure are,” he insisted gently. “You never did win one for me, you know. That was part of the deal.”

She wasn’t having his deflections. “Why is it so hard to believe that I miss you?”

His eyes flitted across her face, but he never responded. He merely shook his head.

“Don’t you miss home? Your friends and family? What about when you have a wife and kids? Will you still want to travel constantly?” Her voice had risen slightly despite herself. It was the opposite of how she wanted to present her case.

Azriel continued to take her in, his brow furrowed as he looked for the right words to say. She waited patiently, mostly because she knew she was being a little unfair by putting him on the spot. When he finally responded, she cursed his natural perceptiveness. She didn’t care to be on the receiving end of it.

“You certainly have strong opinions about my future family.”

“I’m looking out for you.”

A simple nod was all he gave her, and in that infuriating way of his, it made her keep talking to fill the quiet.

“All I’m saying is that I know you want a family one day, and with you being gone so often, I wonder how sustainable it is for you to stretch yourself so thin.”

His mouth formed a grim line. “Not that I needed to submit my plan to you for approval, but I’ve put some forethought into my life, you know.”

She felt her face slacken when she realized she had finally pushed him beyond his patience. “I know you did. I didn’t mean it that way, I—“

“I’m young, and I’m single right now. This job pays an ungodly amount of money; money that I can save to provide for my family in a way that was never done for me. Of course, when that eventually happens, I’ll have to make some moves, but at least I’ll have padded my savings.”

“You don’t have to explain to me.”

“Clearly, I do!” Azriel snapped.

Elain blinked against the sting in her eyes. He had never once snapped at her like that, and it hurt far more than she thought it could. When he made to sit up, she gripped him firmly by the shoulders, securing him in the same position around her waist.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I don’t know why I’m being so difficult on this. I guess... I guess I just want you to want to be here. With me.”

Azriel eyes flew up to meet hers faster than she’d ever seen. They scanned her face furiously, and even though she would give anything to hide the blush on her cheeks, she made herself hold his stare. He swallowed thickly, but his eyes stayed trained on hers.

“With you.”

Elain could only nod in confirmation. She hoped he understood, because she wasn’t sure she could bear having to spell it out. Risking rejection the day before her birthday wasn’t on her wish list. Azriel leaned forward then, and Elain’s breath hitched as he rested his forehead against hers, their noses nearly close enough to brush. His eyes were shut, and she took the opportunity to admire the fullness of his eyelashes while she waited the small forever it took for him to talk.

“I want nothing more than I want to be here with you.”

Elain titled her chin up slightly to brush her nose along his. His cedar-like scent overwhelmed her, cloaking her in a familiar comfort. She really hoped she wasn’t reading the interaction wrong.

“Lain,” he breathed, his brow furrowed in question.

Elain could barely emit a full nod before his lips pressed against hers. Heat bloomed in her chest, rushing to her neck, her ears, her core. There was too much space between their bodies for her taste, but she resisted pulling him further into her. After so long of wondering what crossing that boundary could feel like with Azriel, she didn’t dare rush it.

Too soon, Azriel pulled away from her and sat up. Her eyes widened as she took him in, wondering what happened to change his mind so quickly. Her muscles relaxed when she realized he was kicking his shoes off to settle in with her. She whisked the blanket away from her body, refusing to have another barrier between their bodies.

Suddenly, Azriel’s perceptiveness was a blessing. He settled over her, slotting his thigh between hers and holding his weight on his elbows. He brought one scarred hand into her hair, the other resting near her head. He caressed her cheek with the backs of his fingers, adjusting to cup her cheek as the kiss intensified.

Despite not being a usual activity during their hangouts, everything seemed to make perfect sense with Azriel. His lips fit against hers perfectly, his hands found their homes in the most tender places, and his body curled around her curves with a sort of poetic justice. It was as if the universe gloated in self-righteousness; as if it was saying to them, _“Why have you ignored me for so long?”_

Azriel groaned as her hips rocked over his thigh, his own hips pressing her into the mattress to increase the pressure. Elain slipped her hands beneath the back of his tee and dug the tips of her fingers into the deliciously warm skin of his lower back. Her whimper was what eventually snapped his self-control. In seconds, it seemed, their clothes were discarded, and Azriel was slotted between her legs, his hands exploring her body as if he was trying to commit it to muscle memory.

He paused his ministrations as he aligned their hips, bringing his forehead down to hers again. She blushed under his attention, and his face softened into a small smile.

“You sure?”

Elain nodded vigorously, licking her lips to prepare them for his attention. He was poised at her entrance, and she resisted the urge to pull his hips roughly into hers to get on with it. Her back arched has he pressed into her, their breaths coming out in stuttering huffs as they adjusted to the feel of the other.

“Shit,” Azriel whispered, his eyes fluttering closed once he was fully sheathed inside her.

She could only moan in response, her own eyes squeezed shut in pleasure. They lost themselves in each other, no concern for time and space, late into the night. There was a conversation that needed to take place, and Azriel still had to board a plane the next day, but she couldn’t care about any of it while the man she loved was wrapped around her.

—

Leaving Elain for the airport was never fun, but it had felt impossible. He held her until the last possible moment before he had to head out, and even then, he’d held her just a fraction longer.

He had been mentally prepared to take his lashings when he arrived at Elain’s apartment. He knew she was mad at him and understandably so. It wasn’t his preference to miss her birthday, and he had cursed colorfully when he got the call from his supervisor.

When Elain had sent her response to the news, so dry and dejected, he hadn’t thought twice about hopping in his rental car to head for her apartment. What he hadn’t expected were all the subsequent events, but it had been the single best night of his life. Her preoccupation with his travel frequency had confused him until it hadn’t; the pieces of the puzzle suddenly locking into place. He appreciated her candor and persistence in the conversation. If she hadn’t carried the entire thing, they wouldn’t be where they were.

He wasn’t totally sure where that was, but he knew they both wanted to be there. That alone was comforting, and he knew they could figure out everything else along the way. Never in his wildest dreams did he assume Elain, beautiful and perfect Elain, would ever see him beyond the awkward, shy kid from her childhood. The previous day felt like a weird fever dream, and he would stay asleep forever if he could.

The responsibilities of life called despite his wishes, which meant he was loaded into his rental car traveling westbound toward the airport. He cursed when he realized he forgot to fill the gas tank of the car, his eyes jumping from the digital clock on the dash and the road ahead as he considered. Did he have time to stop? Or should he take the fee to make sure he made his flight?

The choice seemed impossible when what he really wanted was option three; to stay in Velaris with Elain to celebrate her birthday. He reflected on her words the previous day and how she’d looked when he finally walked away to get into the car. It amazed him how inconsequential being the hero consultant for his company all seemed. The turn around on that perspective shift had been nearly immediate, leaving him unmotivated and homesick before he even got the chance to leave.

He pulled off the highway for a gas station, ultimately deciding the time was worth avoiding the inflated fee. When he pulled up, there were cars everywhere, not a single pump available, and he slammed the steering wheel with his palm at his luck. Why did it seem like everything was against him?

As he sat behind an old sedan, staring holes into the rear bumper in his impatience, he wondered why he was doing This to himself. His thoughts shifted to Elain, who was likely surrounded by her friends and family at that moment. It made him happy to know she was being celebrated as she deserved, but it hurt him to think she would glance up with those big brown eyes to look for him and not find him there. He wanted to be there. He wanted to be with her.

Pulling away from the station, he pulled his phone from his pocket to make a quick call. Elain’s phone went to voicemail, as he expected with the festivities, so he left her a message to notify her of his plans.

“Hey, Lain. It’s Az. Uhh— it’s a long story, but I wanted you to know I’m headed back. I meant what I said, and if there’s any day to be in Velaris with you, it’s your birthday. I hope you’re having fun and can’t wait to see you.” He paused, reflecting on the words they had exchanged that morning. He cleared his throat in preparation to utter them again; the second time of a million more, he hoped. “I love you.”

It hadn’t been novel for Elain to say she loved him or vice versa. They’d said it since they were in high school, and she insisted on saying it anytime he went out of town. It was her belief that you love your friends and family out loud, and he very much fell into one of those categories.

That morning had been different. The casual, absentminded declaration was replaced with something genuine and weighted. A quick “love you, love you too” had morphed into something intentional and heartfelt, loaded with everything they’d yet to talk about. Both of them meant it though, and he looked forward to unpacking it all with her.

He would deal with work later. Once he made it back and could look up the appropriate contacts, he would initiate a rescheduling. His supervisor wouldn’t be happy, but he liked to think he had contributed meaningfully to their organization enough to earn their understanding. He rehearsed how the conversation may go, but none of the scenarios competed with how Elain’s joyful expression would look when he surprised her.

His skin erupted in goose flesh at the thought of spending another night with her like the night before. The more he thought on it, the more steadfast in his current plan he became. His priorities had shifted, but he couldn’t regret it.

Lost in his thoughts, he never saw the headlights of the large truck merging onto the highway. Rather than following the lane they were in, they merged abruptly into Azriel’s without hesitating long enough to check for others around them. His first clue that they’d done so was the loud crunch of metal, jarring him from his thoughts and shaking the car violently.

The two vehicles seemed reluctant to pull away fromeach other, the blend of crunched metal making it difficult to steer out of contact. The truck never relented, leaving Azriel’s panicked brain to scroll through his options of how to best navigate the current situation. His brain seemed to freeze under the pressure, allowing the momentum of the truck to push him farther into the lane on the opposite side. The car in that lane slammed on their brakes in an attempt to miss him, but their front bumper caught his rear one.

The momentum of the truck, paired with this new obstacle, created a bleak situation. Before he knew what was happening, his car turned abruptly on its head with a loud crunch on impact. He continued to roll across the lanes, his view nothing but the rapid rotation of the outside world and headlights. Before he made it to the median, another vehicle struck him, sending the both of them flying into the patch of grass.

Azriel wasn’t sure how long he was out before his eyes fluttered open again. It took several seconds for him to orient to his surrounding with the pounding in his head and the savage, searing pain running through his body. He remained upside down, suspended only by the seatbelt, but he had a clear view through the windshield since it was gone entirely. Only random edge segments remained, the rest of it littered across the grass with various types of metal debris scattered all around. The car he’d rolled with was on fire, and it didn’t appear that anyone was moving inside. He hoped that meant they’d successfully extracted themselves, although he had a feeling that wasn’t the case.

His attention turned toward his immediate environment, assessing his potential for escape to do so before his own car decided to burst into flame. He considered various exit strategies, but he couldn’t land on one that seemed feasible through his mental fog. He needed strength to pull off any of those maneuvers, and his body had the vague sensation of sluggishness similar to when one tries to move in a dream. No matter what he did, he didn’t seem to have it in him.

His physical inventory was the most damning once his attention shifted there. His pain seemed to intensify by the second, and upon completing a visual scan of his body, there was a clear culprit for his generalized weakness. A rogue piece of scrap metal, totally unclear in origin, was lodged within his torso just below his rib cage. That also explained his shallow breathing.

Blood poured from the wound at an alarming speed, and Azriel’s fate dug its heels in despite his wishes against it. He was no medical professional, but he knew that the amount of blood he had already lost was potentially fatal. The fact that no emergency personnel were present removed the qualifier of “potentially”, he realized, considering he would lose far more in the meantime. For all he knew, there may not have been a witness to notify them in the first place.

So he stared it down, the wound flowing with crimson inevitability. Shadows were forming around his visual field, and he knew it wouldn’t be long. He eased his eyes closed to try and focus on anything other than the pain, and he latched on to the pair of eyes he always saw behind his eye lids; the eyes of brown who had blessed him so many times over the course of his life. Eyes that glowed with veins of honey when the sun hit them just right; that could strip him down to his soul with a single look but could cure any ills with the same. He trained his focus on the mental image, trying to remember the intricate patterns within her irises and the way her pupils dilated as he kissed her the day before. He held on to them until the brown faded into a deep, eternal black.

—

Tears were streaming down Elain’s face in earnest as she stared at that damned ring. She’d worn it for the service, and blessedly, no one had asked her any questions about why she was wearing such an old piece of cheap jewelry. She supposed they knew better than to ask a grieving woman anything of the sort, even if they were curious.

Painful, all-consuming grief wracked through her for the millionth time since Rhysand had pulled her urgently away from her party to deliver the news. At first she’d been too stunned to react, assuming she was locked in some nightmare, but she heard her wails before she realized they came from her. She wasn’t sure she would be able to eulogize him properly given her unpredictable bouts of intense grief, but somehow she’d managed to make it through with only tears and a watery, wavering voice. Cassian and Rhysand had asked her to say a few words as his oldest friend beyond the two of them, and she couldn’t bear to disappoint them. In truth, she barely remembered what she said beyond random snippets.

_He was my best friend..._

_He was the best man I’ve ever known..._

_He loved his friends and family..._

What hurt the worst was what she didn’t, no— couldn’t, bring herself to say.

_Azriel was the love of my life. He still is the love of my life._

As she turned the ring over and over in her delicate fingers, she felt the intensity of her sadness fade into something else entirely. Suddenly, she was viscerally angry that she was going through this; that this world had to exist in a universe where Azriel didn’t. Why was he robbed of his time when so many others used theirs to hurt other people and cause trouble? Why was she left without her best friend? How were they over before they even got the chance to start? It wasn’t _fair._

She hated herself for being so spoiled, so ridiculous about his having to travel on her birthday. When Rhysand told her he got in an accident on the highway traveling eastbound, ice had settled in her veins. She had known before she listened to that gods foresaken voicemail that he had turned his car around. For her.

Another wave of tears sprang to her eyes as she looked down at the ring once more.

_I need something to remember you by._

How stupid did she have to be to think she could ever forget? How dare she insinuate she knew what it was like to miss him, truly miss him?

With a pained scream, she reared back and hurled that tiny, pathetic ring into the Sidra. It was impulsive and unnecessary, but it served as the release she needed all the same.

She fell to her knees against the bank, sobs wracking through her with renewed vigor. “Az,” she cried, her voice broken and shaking, “how could you do this to me? How could you just leave me here?”

He didn’t answer, and even though she knew he wouldn’t, it made the tears flow steadily all the same. She wasn’t sure if she would ever stop hoping it wasn’t real; that she would ever stop looking for him in a crowded room or at holidays. She didn’t know how long she’d sobbed there atop the grass, but she was grateful that the setting sun had cleared the boardwalk of almost all foot traffic to spare her the embarrassment. At least she could say that was a silver lining, even if the tears never seemed to stop.

“Elain?”

The hope that bloomed in her chest was disorienting when she heard the deep voice call her name. That hope had only increased as she turned around to see the tan skin and deep black hair. The only problem was that the eyes were all wrong. What should have been vivid hazel was a rich, true violet.

“Hey, Rhys,” she said weakly, wiping furiously at her face to get herself together.

“I thought I may find you here. You slipped out after the... anyway. I’m glad you’re safe.”

He kneeled next to her on the grass and pulled her into him with an outstretched arm. Elain fell into him immediately, suddenly exhausted in the aftermath of her latest outburst. She had been so sure she wanted to be entirely alone, but she found herself incredibly grateful for the steadying presence of her brother-in-law.

Rhysand wrapped her tightly in a hug as she continued to cry. He made no moves to interrupt her or console her; simply allowed her to grieve the way she saw fit. In the moment, he was the personification of her self-care ritual, and she appreciated him eternally for the gesture. She wasn’t sure how she was going to move forward in this life without her wallflower, but somehow she knew that with everyone’s help, she would find it in herself to appreciate the sunshine again.

Someday.

**Author's Note:**

> Lyrics— 
> 
> Break my soul in two  
> Looking for you but you're right here  
> If I can't relate to you anymore  
> Then who am I related to?  
> And if this is the long haul  
> How'd we get here so soon?  
> Did I close my fist around something delicate?  
> Did I shatter you?
> 
> And I'm sitting on a bench in Coney Island wondering where did my baby go?  
> The fast times, the bright lights, the merry go  
> Sorry for not making you my centerfold  
> Over and over  
> Lost again with no surprises  
> Disappointments, close your eyes  
> And it gets colder and colder  
> When the sun goes down
> 
> The question pounds my head  
> "What's a lifetime of achievement?"  
> If I pushed you to the edge  
> But you were too polite to leave me
> 
> And do you miss the rogue  
> Who coaxed you into paradise and left you there?  
> Will you forgive my soul  
> When you're too wise to trust me and too old to care?
> 
> 'Cause we were like the mall before the Internet  
> It was the one place to be  
> The mischief, the gift wrapped suburban dreams  
> Sorry for not winning you an arcade ring
> 
> Over and over  
> Lost again with no surprises  
> Disappointments, close your eyes  
> And it gets colder and colder  
> When the sun goes down
> 
> Were you waiting at our old spot  
> In the tree line by the gold clock  
> Did I leave you hanging every single day?
> 
> Were you standing in the hallway  
> With a big cake, happy birthday  
> Did I paint your bluest skies the darkest gray?  
> A universe away
> 
> And when I got into the accident  
> The sight that flashed before me was your face  
> But when I walked up to the podium  
> I think that I forgot to say your name
> 
> I'm on a bench in Coney Island wondering where did my baby go?  
> The fast times, the bright lights, the merry go  
> Sorry for not making you my centerfold
> 
> Over and over  
> Lost again with no surprises  
> Disappointments, close your eyes  
> And it gets colder and colder  
> When the sun goes down  
> When the sun goes down  
> The sight that flashed before me was your face  
> When the sun goes down  
> But I think that I forgot to say your name  
> Over and over  
> Sorry for not making you my  
> Making you my  
> Making you my centerfold


End file.
